Improvement in coal-car elevators



P. H. LAMEY;

Goal-Car Elevators.

No. 135,565, V Patented Feb.4,1873.

AM, PHoromnosRAPH/c co. MX( omen/15's moms.)

PATENT QFFICE.

PHILIP H. LAMEY, OF WICONISOO, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN COAL-CAR ELEVATORS.

Specificationforrhing part of Letters Patent No. 135,565, dated February4, 1873.

1'0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PHILIP H. LAMEY, of Wiconisco, in the county ofDauphin and State of Pennsylvania, have invented an Improved Apparatusto be used in Gonnection with Goal- Oar Elevators, of which thefollowing is a specification: 1

Theinvention relates to car-elevators genzrally, but more particularlyto such as are employed in transferring coal from the bottom of mines upa slope, and to a landing from whence it is discharged. First, theinvention consists in a pivoted stop which is operated, simultaneouslywith a signal to the engineer,- by a single topman who stands on thelanding. Second, it also consists in pushers arranged in the rear of carto carry it forward to the beginning of slope after the mules have beenremoved. Third, it also consists in peculiar means for operating thepusher, consisting of a truck arranged in a pit below the level ofcar-track. Fourth, it also consists in placing the pushers at aninclination to the car-bumpers, sothat the heavy spread-chains may beconveniently handled and brought into connection with car. Fifth, italso consists in making a longitudinal channel through middle of truckto allow the rope to play vertically,

. according to the position of car, and laterally according totheposition of rope on drum Sixth, it also consists in a novel catchpivoted over the rope-channel, bifurcated and curved to allow thetransfer of truck to the dischargeend of landing at the same time withthe car. Seventh, it also consists in a rising track, up

, which the pusher is moved totake its proper position against thebumpers of cars. Eighth, it also consists in pivoting the rising track,which brings the pusher into proper position behind bumpers of car, tothe end of upper track and allowing it to take its position on lowertrack and to rise and fall automatically. Ninth, it also consists inplacing a friction-disk on each side of the pulley on which the roperests, and friction-slides on the bottom of car, to prevent the rapidwear which otherwise takes place on the wire ropes.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my invention. 'Fig. 2 isa longitudinal sectional elevation of a portion of the same. Fig. 3 is atransverse section of landing to show the front of pushers, the cavityin truck, and the truck rearward with the car.

mode of holding the truck to its track. Fig. 4 is a detail sectionalview of catch with stud of rope engaged therein, ready to draw the Fig.5 is a side view of pulley, and Fig. 6 is a view of the pulley andfriction-disks on the same shaft.

A represents the top or landing; B, the slope; and (l, the bottom, wherethe coal or other substance is loaded upon a car, D. These cars areloaded at O and drawn up with wire ropes wound, by suitable power, on adrum until the cars reach the end a, where the load is discharged. Thisis all done in the usual manner, one car being always drawn up asanother is let down, and by the same actuatingshaft. The landing A issloped on a decline from a. to a, in order-that the loaded car may bedisengaged from the operative mech anism at the upper end of slope andallowed to travel, by its own gravity, down the landing to the place ofdischarge. After the load has been removed the empty car is transferred,by mule or other animal power, to the upper part of slope B, where themules are removed and the car let down by rope on Windlass. Here I havelocated a pivoted stop-lever, E, Whose arm 0 is connected, by a rod, 0with a hand-lever, F, and this hand-lever, by a rod, 0 with a bell. Atopman vibrates this lever when the car is ready to start, depresses thestop E out of the way of car, and makes a signal on the bell to theengineer, who operates the Windlass mechanism. G is a pusher, consistingof the arms g g and open front piece 9. The ends of these arms abutagainst the bumpers (P, and, being drawn forward, propel the car to thejunction of landing A with slope 13. In order to actuate these pushersand cause them to perform their intended function, I pivot the rear endsof the arms 9 g to the side of a truck, H, which travels on anindependent track, h, at the bottom of a pit that is below the level ofthe car-track. On the front endof this truck is fastened one end of acordj h,

to whose'other end is appended an actuating weight, I. After the topmanhas operated lever F to depress the stop E and signal the engineer thatthe car is ready to start, and the signal has also been given from themine below that the loaded car there is prepared, the engineer reverseshis engine. This allows the weight to bring the tension of its gravityto bear upon the truck, which now moves forward and carries the car tothe verge of the slope. \Vhen the car is arrested at the stop E and themules taken therefrom, the spread-chains K K, which are necessarily veryheavy and difficult to handle, are seized singly by atopman on each sideof car and slided up the inclined arms 9 g. This greatly facilitates theoperation, as well as saves a heavy and inconvenient lift to the topmen.The truck H is provided with a longitudinal channel, cl, which is madesufficiently deep to allow the rope that is attached to car to playfreely in a vertical plane, and sufficiently wide to admit of itslateral movement to accommodate it to its own changes of position on thewinding-drum. L is a bifurcated catch pivoted to the truck II and placedoverthe channel d, while it is curved on the end at l and provided witha friction-roll, Z. This allows a link-stud, k, to catch therein anddraw the truck to the discharge end of the landing, while the catch Lfreely plays up and down vertically to accommodate itself to the motionsof the rope 0.

In order that the truck may pass forward with the pusher Gr above thelevel of cartrack, and yet may return with this pusher below the saidlevel, I make two tracks, M N, for the pusher. downward at one end, andconnected to the long track N by a pivoted traek, m, while the track Nis curved upward at its termination a to arrest the pusher and truck atthe proper time.

As the truck has a tendency to rise from its track a, I arrange on thelongitudinal middle of its bottom the T-shaped stud d and form in thepit a corresponding groove, I), in which the former may convenientlyslide.

0 is a pulley, situated at the kinkle of slope B and used to retain therope 0 in its true relative position. When therope comes against thispulley there is a certain amount of friction required to move it uponits axis, and this friction, on the movement downward, wears out thewire rope very rapidly. To overcome this difficulty I arrange two disks,1 P, one on each side of pulley and upon the pulley-shaft, while on thebottom of car I place two friction-slides, Q Q, made yielding by springsq q. As these slides come in contact with the disks before the ropearrives upon the pulley the latter is made to rotate ,at a velocity "erynear to that with which the rope is moving, and consequently requiresvery little if any additional friction from the rope itself. This servesvery greatly to increase the durability of the wire-ropes.

The first is short, curved In orderto prevent the weight I from'passingdown between its guides i with, a thump and jar, and also to give it atendency to rise hand-lever, I*, and bell mechanism, as de- 7 scribed,so that the same movement of lever will depress the stop and notify theengineer that the car is ready to start.

2. The pusher G, arranged, as described, in rear of car and operated byany suitable mechanism against the bumpers of cars to carry them to endof landing and beginning of slope. The means described for operating thepusher G, consisting of the wheeled truck arranged in a pit and moved onits own track by a weight or other suitable mechanism, as set forth. I

4. The pusher G, pivoted and arranged to rise at an upward inclinationagainst the truck to enable the heavy spread-chains to be slided uponthe arms q q, as set forth.

5. The construction of the truck with longitudinal recess d throughmiddle, as described, to allow vertical and longitudinal play to therope, according to the position of the car and to its own position ondrum.

6.- The pivoted endcurved audbifurcated catch L, arranged, as described,over the chan 4 nel d for the purpose of enabling the truck to be drawnback with the car.

7. A rising track, m, connecting the upper and lower pusher-tracksinorder. to enable pusher to take up its position behind car, as setforth.

8. The rising pivoted track on combined with upper and lower tracks N N,as described, so that the pusher may pass over or under the top trackwithout let or hinderance.

9. The'friction-disks P P, one on each side of pulley O, andthefriction-slidesQ, Q on bottom of car, combined as described, torotate pulley O in advance of therope, so as t avoid friction thereon.

o I. H. LAMEY. Witnesses:

THOS. D. D. OURAND, SoLoN G. KEMON.

